Banks have so far weathered well the financial turbulence caused by COVID-19 while at the same time being central in the economic and financial response. As the crisis moves from its initial phase as a short-term liquidity shock, the financial sector is facing increasing volumes of non-performing loans, raising the spectre of a banking solvency crisis. In economies already burdened with low-quality assets, the COVID-19 fallout is intensifying existing problems with legacy loans heightening the risk of a banking crisis. These issues are now being worsened by the impact of inflation and the invasion of Ukraine. Thus, addressing increasing volumes of bad loans, while supporting the proper functioning of the financial system, is a major challenge with systemic repercussions for a range of economies. This paper identifies a great paradox: since the bank rescues of the 2008–9 Global Financial Crisis there has been a disproportionate focus on the liability side of bank balance sheets through resolution measures such as bail-in and the accumulation of bail-inable debt. Post-crisis bank resolution regimes have overlooked solutions lying within the asset side of bank balance sheets. This paper analyses historical evidence to argue that concentrating on a liability-focused approach to the exclusion of asset-side solutions is ill-conceived. An excessive accumulation of non-performing loans on the asset side of bank balance sheets inevitably renders resolution interventions on the liability/equity side ineffective or at the very least insufficient to maintain banking system viability and financial stability. Bank asset restructuring involving the use of asset management companies, asset protection schemes and even capital injections can play a critical role in achieving an expeditious restoration of banking systems’ health following a major macroeconomic, sustainability or financial crisis.

到目前为止，银行已经很好地经受住了由 COVID-19 引起的金融动荡，同时在经济和金融反应中发挥着核心作用。随着危机从短期流动性冲击的初始阶段转变，金融部门正面临着越来越多的不良贷款，引发了银行业偿付能力危机的担忧。在已经背负着低质量资产的经济体中，COVID-19 的影响正在加剧遗留贷款的现有问题，从而增加了银行危机的风险。由于通货膨胀的影响和乌克兰的入侵，这些问题现在正在恶化。因此，在支持金融体系正常运作的同时，应对不断增加的不良贷款是一项重大挑战，会对一系列经济体产生系统性影响。这篇论文指出了一个很大的悖论：自 2008-9 年全球金融危机的银行救助以来，银行资产负债表的负债方面的关注度不成比例，通过纾困和积累可保释债务等解决措施。危机后的银行处置机制忽视了银行资产负债表资产方面的解决方案。本文分析了历史证据，认为专注于以负债为中心的方法来排除资产侧解决方案是错误的。银行资产负债表资产方不良贷款的过度积累不可避免地导致负债/权益方的处置干预无效或至少不足以维持银行系统的生存能力和金融稳定。涉及使用资产管理公司的银行资产重组，